Synopsis: Unlike the former Philippine First Lady, Imelda is indifferent towards shoes. To her, they are fraught with the bittersweet nostalgia of childhood, one that was marred by a difficult relationship with her shoe-maker father, Romeo. Growing up, all of hers were handmade by him. Now a mature woman, she takes a pivotal call from the morgue, spurring her search for the perfect pair of shoes for her dead father. The deeper she searches for the perfect shoes, the more she finds herself.

MTRCB rating: PG

Running time: 120mins

Trailer:

Reviews:

5.0 Skilty Labastilla (Pinoy Rebyu)

“All cast and crew deliver their A-game in this tastefully crafted drama that refuses to cut corners, hits all the right notes, and thus completely earns its big-hearted sentimentality. What a joy to experience a work of art that’s as close to perfection as it gets. And I’m now officially on the Bing Pimentel bandwagon. My favorite local film of the year so far.”

5.0 Philbert Dy (Click the City)

“Even if Mariquina was nothing but its performances, it would be worth seeing. There’s almost too much great acting in here from the likes of Mylene Dizon, Ricky Davao, Bing Pimentel, Che Ramos, and Barbie Forteza. But the film is so much more than its performances. It’s a simple story in the end; a document of one man’s tragic inability to be what his family needs him to be. But it is expertly crafted through and through, every detail of the production so lucidly designed.” (Read full review)

5.0 Zig Marasigan (Rappler)

“Mariquina is a fine, rare piece of local cinema where all its component parts come together to present a story that is both poignant and moving. It is wondrous in its ambition, but also near flawless in its execution. But at the end of the day, it’s a film about the ordinary. The kind that sits in front us without catching our attention. But when it is gone, there is only regret, and the promise, that maybe someday, we will do better.” (Read full review)

5.0 Carl Papa (Whatever Carl)

“Major props to Sogueco for bringing the the best in his cast and creating what could be the best Filipino film of the year so far. It was a quiet take on a frequent noisy and bickering story of family problems. He opted for real emotion as opposed to histrionics that made the film more powerful and lingering.” (Read full review)

5.0 Dicot Alvarado (Letterboxd)

“Mariquina is just brilliant. It provides an incredibly simple, but still heartbreaking and wholly beautiful portrait of small family lives. It presents the seemingly mundane in a fashion so painfully genuine, one cannot help but be captivated by its tales and its characters, and moved to great emotion and even to tears.” (Read full review)

4.5 Richard Bolisay (Lilok Pelikula)

“One of the pleasures of watching Mariquina is being overwhelmed by its generosity: how it finds the compelling in the ordinary and feels grateful for every particle of dust that settles.” (Read full review)

4.5 Renelson Morelos (Ramblings of a Film Urchin)

“The power of the film lies not so much in what is spoken, but in what is seen and felt, those emotions conveyed through glances and body language. And just like the shoes crafted with loving skill by the father (wonderfully portrayed by Ricky Davao, in a role that was originally intended for Joel Torre), one can likewise see how the film was lovingly made and shows genuine affection for the town and its popular craft.” (Read full review)

4.5 Emil Hofilena (Cinemil Movie Reviews)

“Fantastic directing from Milo Sogueco who really knows when to bounce between these two time periods and really knows how to tie them together without feeling too jarring at all. The way he shoots certain scenes is so restrained and just allows the action to take place. He has a good control over his actors and over the emotion. At the center of Mariquina, though, are the titanic performances from this entire cast. They’re so good.” (Watch video review)

4.5 John Tawasil (Present Confusion)

“Much like last year’s Sana Dati, this film is about emotions not expressed, words not said, feelings not brought to the surface. Mylene Dizon (and her younger counterpart) is perfect for the role, and Ricky Davao proves once again how awesome he is: vulnerable and heartbroken, yet an enigma to his daughter. A technically superb film, with and exquisitely tender soundtrack, Mariquina is an emotional wringer that will make tears fall.” (Read full review)

4.0 Oggs Cruz (Twitch)

“Mariquina is a work of admirable restraint. With a narrative of daunting breadth that traverses various decades, Sogueco was able to craft a film without any unnecessary histrionics or false political agenda, notwithstanding the very rare cameo of the very politically alienating former First Lady Imelda Marcos.” (Read full review)

4.0 Wanggo Gallaga (Juice.ph)

“Jerrold Tarog’s script is marvellously tight and the script rings with truth and never veers towards the over-dramatic. Everything settles just right. Milo Sogueco has an amazing control of his material and keeps everything at a very low frequency, everything just bubbling under the surface, and while I enjoy the restraint (as opposed to the usual Filipino films that tends to go overboard), I felt that it was too controlled and too restrained.” (Read full review)

4.0 Fred Hawson (ABS-CBN News)

“The performances of two supporting actresses actually become bigger highlights of this film. First is Bing Pimentel, who is a riveting presence, drawing attention every time she is onscreen. She was so classy as the younger Tess, and was absolutely sublime as elderly Tess. Second is Barbie Forteza, who gave a heart-tugging performance as the adolescent Imelda. That scene where she was left waiting in the restaurant by her parents was quietly eloquent, with only her eyes conveying her conflict of emotions.” (Read full review)

4.0 Rob San Miguel (Brun Philippines)

“Mariquina is good artisanship at work. All the pieces fell into their proper places: a tight screenplay, music that highlights a scene than drown it, appropriate production design, fluid editing, good cinematography and a powerful ensemble cast. Its ambition may not be as grandiose or as philosophically lofty as some independent films, but the beauty of Mariquina is in its smallness.” (Read full review)

4.0 Jenilee Chuaunsu (PEP)

“Mariquina is a beautifully shot film that tugs at the heartstrings.” (Read full review)

4.0 Adele Ann Oqueriza (The FilmSoc Report)

“The filmmanages to build a painful yet beautiful story that is nothing short of heartbreaking. Sogueco and Tarog tell everything in a way we’ll be haunted. The presence of shoes and its meaning to the characters will also leave us thinking about that one thing that defines us. ” (Read full review)

“Is it melodramatic? Well one can easily accuse of it as such. But what’s far more interesting in it is how it never lets the melodrama take over by injecting humorous punches during the more dramatic scenes. It was careful and aware enough of its material to know where to control the drama. And that’s rare to happen since in the hands of another writer, they would have highlighted the drama more.” (Read full review)

4.0 Armando dela Cruz (Film Police)

“Mariquina is a film exploring familiar dramatic terrains yet remains a captivating tale of change.” (Read full review)

4.0 Gelo dela Cruz (Beyond Your Five Senses)

“The simplicity of the story matched with a great storytelling and visual impact made the film beautiful. Milo Sogueco, the director, did not only capture the perfect picture of a teenage girl disgruntled with the separation of her parents with reasons unknown to her, but also, the evolution of Marikina (the shoe capital of the Philippines) from an empire of shoe business that is socialized properly amongst local shoemakers until it has been demolished by foreign brands and gigantic monopolized business.” (Read full review)

3.5 Dodo Dayao (Philippine Star)

“When it becomes apparent that this is less a film about patriarchal failure as it is about a daughter who commits the very crimes of apathy and infidelity and betrayal she accuses her father of, the emotional wallop it packs is tough to deny and even tougher to resist.” (Read full review)

2.5 K. Montinola (Philippine Star)

“I wanted to like Mariquina more than I did, because it had all the right ingredients: a compelling story, an important period and setting, dedicated mood pieces that could have been plaintively beautiful. In the end, though, instead of making a statement, it either made too many half-formed ones, or chose to say nothing at all.” (Read full review)